AP - A federal judge in Southern California has declared the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional because the ban violates the First Amendment rights of gays and lesbians.

AP - A Colorado wildfire that already has destroyed 170 homes showed no signs of relenting Thursday as wind gusts of more than 40 mph threatened to drive the flames eastward from the Rocky Mountain foothills and into the heart of Boulder, where some residents were warned to be ready to flee.

AP - The death toll from flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine climbed Thursday after Texas authorities recovered the body of a missing swimmer and an Oklahoma driver drowned trying to cross a swollen creek.

AP - An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.

AFP - A six-month injury absence has David Beckham champing at the bit to get back on the pitch and provide a boost for his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates - and perhaps eventually again for England.

AP - An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.

AP - An animal-rights activist says an endangered right whale stranded on a beach in southern Brazil for two days is too weak to be rescued and returned safely to the sea.

AP - A city all too familiar with civil unrest was caught by surprise with the level of outrage over the fatal police shooting of an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who was menacing officers with a knife.

AP - Donald Trump offered Thursday to buy out a major investor in the real estate partnership that controls the site near ground zero where a Muslim group wants to build a 13-story Islamic center and mosque.

AP - U.S. Marine commandos stormed a pirate-held cargo ship off the Somalia coast Thursday, reclaiming control and taking nine prisoners without firing a shot in the first such boarding raid by the international anti-piracy flotilla, U.S. Navy officials said.

AP - The father of a U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan says he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the Army: Troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian, planned more killings and threatened him to keep quiet about it.

AP - With a blunt remark that grated on Mexicans, Washington's top diplomat was merely echoing a growing concern about the alarming violence and instability being caused by Mexico's war on drug cartels.

AP - "Advocate tolerance, and disregard the ignorant," one book counsels. Advises the other, "Be gentle towards all, ... forbearing."

AP - If Rahm Emanuel decides to run for Chicago mayor, the White House chief of staff would easily be the best-known figure in the race, with national name recognition that few others could match and invaluable experience from helping engineer the Democrats' takeover of the House in 2006.

AP - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-vehicle accident near his home Thursday morning but was unhurt and hours later practiced as usual with his team just days before the season opener.

Reuters - A set of U.N. goals aimed at drastically reducing poverty and hunger worldwide by 2015 are achievable, despite setbacks caused by the global financial and economic crises, a draft document said.

AP - In early August, three women, each of them more than four months pregnant, sought abortions from Dr. Steven Brigham at his clinic in New Jersey. Instead of turning them down, authorities said Brigham used a novel scheme to take advantage of the disparities in state abortion laws.

AP - Iran said Thursday it will free Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, as an act of clemency to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

AFP - US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will face a key US House committee's questions on possible new steps to press China over its currency policy, the panel's chairman said Thursday.

AP - Lawyers for a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a plane near Detroit on Christmas said Thursday that they've talked to prosecutors about resolving the case with a deal.

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country. The city's mayor pledged to take the case to the Supreme Court.

AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed extremists "without souls, without hearts" for a suicide car bombing that killed 17 people Thursday in the crowded central market of a city in the North Caucasus.

Reuters - Democrats in Congress are distancing themselves from President Barack Obama's push to let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans, fearing it will further harm them in November's mid-term elections.